Aaron Amuchastegui
Aaron Amuchastegui has been a guest on Collecting Keys, the real estate investing podcast hosted by Mike DeHaan, Dan Austin and Dylan Koch.
Operating At A Level That Competes with Hedgefunds with Aaron Amuchastegui
Aaron Amuchastegui, who has bought roughly 2,000 houses at foreclosure auctions and now holds about 850 rentals plus a 77-unit apartment complex, walks through how he rebuilt from zero in 2015 by systematizing contractor selection, scope of work and turn schedules so flips finish in four to five days. He explains the hiring and firing standards behind his trade bench, how he bet big on MLS and new-construction buys in early 2021, and why cap rate expansion is forcing 30% price declines on multifamily and office regardless of occupancy.
Key takeaways
- Make hiring decisions for the long-term system, not the current job: if a contractor needs a deposit to start, he likely can't scale to 20-30 houses a month with you. Expect to try roughly 10 painters before finding the one you keep.
- Systematize contractor communication with reusable assets: an intro video about your process and payment terms, a video showing exactly how you want houses painted in two days with two people, and a photo-based scope with lines drawn to each trade's work.
- Build repeatable triggers into software: buying a house means turning on utilities, insurance, and landscape maintenance; selling means turning all three off. Aaron's system drafts those personalized emails automatically.
- If you only do one or two flips a month, the system can just be bidding out to 10 contractors every time. Aaron still bids every roof to five roofers because quotes swing from $4,000 to $8,000 based on who is busy.